Belgium - Unibet is now the official front-of-shirt sponsor for Belgian First Division A champion, Club Brugge. This deal is an expansion of their previous shirt sponsorship deal.
Unibet was Jupiter Pro League club’s sleeve sponsor last season, and they will now benefit from having their brand on the front of Club Brugge jerseys as well. Additionally, Unibet is expected to work with the team in creating exclusive content for Club Brugge fans, as well as in providing the club with official match data. Unibet will also support the team in their corporate social responsibility campaign, No Heart/No Glory.
Club Brugge Chief Operating Officer Bob Madou has this to say: “In the past few years, there has been a lot of interest from the sports betting industry to partner up with Club Brugge. The choice for Unibet was therefore one that we made consciously. Unibet, as part of the Kindred Group, is one of the largest players in the market, is fully licensed through the Gaming Commission, is a forerunner in the field of responsible gaming, and has a clear link with sports.”
For their part, the Kindred Group has this to say through Global Head of Sponsorships Timothy Mastelinck: “Just like Club Brugge, we are the market leader in our sector, we share the same values and we are driven by a passion for sportsmanship. Fair play is not only one of the most important pillars of modern football; it’s also a key factor for Unibet. After all, we want to offer our customers a safe, secure, and joyful gambling experience and ensure they are aware of their gambling behaviour so they can play responsibly. Thanks to our collaboration with Club Brugge, we can better highlight this message.”
It is worth noting that Club Brugge has earned a spot in the Uefa Champions League third qualifying round for next season, after they finished second in last season’s Jupiter Pro League. They were only seven points behind Genk, who ended up as champions.
Details regarding the record agreement have not yet been revealed, but it is confirmed that this deal will cover the 2019-2020 season. It has also been confirmed that this deal is the largest commercial partnership in Club Brugge history.
Announcement of the deal has come at a time when there is considerable concern about the Kindred Group possibly making some of their staff redundant. This could mean that some Kindred employees are about to lose their jobs. This was said to be a potential result of the company restructuring their Global Marketing Service (GMS) department as part of a reorganisation program that started in 2018.
Alexander Westrell, Kindred Head of Communications, has confirmed that some positions are indeed “at risk”, but he also tried to ease fears by outlining the company’s plans of creating about 100 new positions as part of their growth plans. “The restructure in GMS is partly done to further increase our proactive stance towards sustainability and compliance across the business. So, the 26 roles that are at risk have been urged to apply for the over 100 new roles that have been created.”
